Dr. Devine's career goal is to become an independent investigator, conducting health services research that evaluates the impact of information technology on medication safety. She is a Research Assistant Professor, University of Washington, School of Pharmacy, where she completed a post-PharmD fellowship in pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research. Committed to pursuing an academic career as an independent investigator, Dr. Devine began by collecting data that characterizes the epidemiology of medication errors both pre- and post-implementation of an ACPOE system in an integrated health system. She quickly realized that to conduct rigorous evaluations, advanced skills and training are necessary. To meet her career objectives she is proposing to merge her background in clinical practice with future expertise in health services and biomedical informatics research methods, acquired through a rigorous program of training that includes didactic and research components, under the guidance of qualified mentors. Dr. Devine will be obtaining a PhD in Health Services Research. Her curriculum will consist of courses that will considerably strengthen her analytic skills that will be directly applied to her research plan. Courses in health services research methods will provide the underlying framework. She will add courses in biostatistics, epidemiology, biomedical health informatics, human factors, survey methods and financial evaluation. She has chosen mentors who have expertise in these areas who will guide her in the application of these disciplines to her research. Dr. Devine has developed a research plan that builds upon her early work, as well as work currently funded by an AHRQ HIT implementation grant held by her primary mentor, Dr. Sean Sullivan. She includes three aims: 1) Evaluating the impact of medication safety, clinical decision support interventions on adverse drug events;2) Optimizing the design of these interventions from the perspective of the human-computer interface;and 3) Conducting a cost-benefit analysis of the electronic prescribing system to the integrated health system. Studying the impact of electronic prescribing on medication safety in the ambulatory setting is a field that stands to have a significant impact on the safety of public heath;yet, it is in its infancy. As an independent investigator, Dr. Devine will contribute to the advancement of this field.